Treasure Tower Takedown (v2) | TGL-L3V-6FG

Treasure Tower Takedown (v2) | TGL-L3V-6FG

A mysterious tower with untold riches has appeared over the Mushroom Kingdom, and Bowser's armada is storming in to search it by force. Race to the top to claim the treasure before Bowser does! Featuring multiple routes, secrets, and even endings, but a very tight challenge – this one’s for super players!

Like the first Blaster Faster, this run is a game of optimizations, but this time there's ON/OFF switches to change the level layout. I wonder if there's a better route?

Blaster Faster 2 (30sec) | 739-GWT-YVG

Speedrun through an abandoned explosives factory! Like before, the floating blaster will propel you to the goal, but it’s more of an obstacle this time. Can you keep your cool in this heated sequel?

Prickly Pass | K1Y-NGS-L5G

Tons of Spikes and spiky things call this mountain their home. Use the rolling spikes to clear a way through! This level is a bit on the long side, especially if you go for the secret room...

Blaster Faster (20sec) | 08M-C6P-95G

Blast processing! Get ahead of the floating blaster so it speeds you along to the goal. A ridiculous little concept level that makes for a fun speedrun.

I have a list of Mario Maker level ideas in my to-dos. Anytime I come up with a level idea – which is a lot – I add it to the list, so I can come back to it at some point. Most of them are massive, sprawling adventures or high-level concepts that need tons of work to be viable.

Thing is, I've only finished one of the levels on that list – Skyway Metro. Every other level I've released was completely improvised, and usually done in one sitting. Flurricane took two hours, Cheep Creep Creek was made in an evening. I haven't come back to the list in weeks!

Besides the overwhelming scale of some of the levels on the list, I think I just enjoy the creative process of improv more. It's more hands on; I'm actually putting things together and experimenting, rather than thinking about what needs to be done and how to accomplish it.

On top of this, planning something makes it an obligation, and obligations are hard to start when you have ADHD. But when I'm experimenting, I've already started – I don't have to overcome that hurdle.

This is best illustrated by when I worked on Prickly Pass. It's a larger level, so I only made about half of it at first. But I procrastinated on coming back to it, and made Flurricane instead! It took me about a week before I finally pulled it up again and finished it.

Honestly, this is starting to make me rethink how I make stuff in general; it seems like I have a lot more fun when I don't plan things out in advance. It's fun to dream up these huge, complex ideas... but it's a lot more fun to throw together a smaller, tighter experience. (Plus I actually finish those, as opposed to the big stuff that takes forever.)

Maybe I'm just burnt out from working on Projects™ all the time, but regardless, I think it'll be good to lean toward more of the improv stuff for now. That's why I've been doing so much writing and level design lately!

Raisin Rainforest | PNG-B9X-6KF

A pretty rainforest course with a strong aesthetic, but tons of blocks overhead and some tough enemy placement. Carefully weave around the Pokeys, dodge Piranha fire, and watch the floodwaters – the Goombas can swim!